Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0,
and the ENVI Ecosystem
November 2023
Zach Norman
JP Metcalf

Before we Begin…
• The webinar is being recorded– Slides & on-demand version of the webinar will be available within a few business days

• Questions?
– Please post any questions in the Questions box

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Today’s Speakers

JP Metcalf
Solutions Engineering Manager
jp.metcalf@nv5.com

Zach Norman
Product Manager
zachary.norman@nv5.com
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AgendaIntroduction and Setting the Stage
Choose Your Own Adventure

Back to Our Roots: ENVI Workflows forHyperspectral
Back to the Future: IDL for VSCodeIDL and ENVI Notebooks

Enabling Collaboration with ENVI Connect
AI-Accelerated Analysis
The Next Generation of Applied Deep Learning
Persistent Monitoring and Scalable Processing

Questions and Discussion

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It’s a Special Release Cycle• All of our core products, and somenew ones, are getting major
versions bumps• These bumps correspond with big
features and changes to user
experience and key capabilities

NV5 Geospatial Software's
Groundbreaking Products Roar
into Market
In a dazzling display of innovation, NV5 Geospatial Software has
unleashed a storm of new products that have swept the geospatial market
off its feet. With a flair for the future and a nod to the past, the 2020s are
witnessing a technological revolution like never before.
NV5 Geospatial Software, a name synonymous with cutting-edge imagery
solutions, has catapulted itself to the forefront of the industry with its latest
offerings. These game-changing releases have sent shockwaves throughthe market, captivating the attention of professionals and enthusiasts alike.
The pièce de résistance of this triumphant launch is NV5's ENVI
Ecosystem, a marvel of modern engineering. This suite combines theprecision of traditional imagery tools with the magic of accessible
products, enabling users to navigate the world of imagery with
unparalleled ease of use. It's the bee's knees for analysts, scientists, andeveryone in between.

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

5IDL and ENVI Get a Face-lift
All of our products have gotten someextra love when it comes to theirdesign!

For IDL and ENVI (from left to right):• New logos• New product icons (shortcuts,
application launchers, etc.)• New splash screens on productlaunchRedefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Products and Capabilities Covered Today• IDL 9.0
• ENVI 6.0• ENVI Deep Learning 3.0• ENVI Connect 2.0• IDL for VSCode• IDL and ENVI Notebooks

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The ENVI Ecosystem is a family of imagery and data analysis solutions
that’s optimized to deliver value where it counts and enable collaboration
across your organization

Imagery experts can perform
advanced analysis and create
imagery products, or create
image processing workflows, andadd them to ENVI Connect.

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

Analysts can access products
created by imagery experts
and other analysts. They caneasily perform literal or nonliteral analysis to create
products and insights –selecting the data andrunning analytics is simple.

Decision makers can easily accessand review results to makeinformed decisions.

8Choose Your Own Adventure
The flexibility of ENVI and IDL allow you to process data how and where
you want

What kind of user areyou?

IDL (and the ENVI API)ENVI Inform

ENVI Connect

IDL and ENVI Notebooks

Visual Programming
ENVI
Workflows
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

9Choose Your Own Adventure
The flexibility of ENVI and IDL allow you to process data how and where
you want

IDL (and the ENVI API)ENVI Inform

Workflows

IDL and ENVI Notebooks

Experts can create
content that otherkinds of users canconsumeENVI Connect

ENVI
Visual Programming

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

10Back to our Roots
With ENVI 6.0, one of our key development areas was revisiting and modernizing thespectral user experience
ENDMEMBER COLLECTION• Quick and easy tool to map the location of known features• Examples:– I have a spectral library containing the signatures of minerals that I wantto map– I found several features of interest with ROIs and want to find where elsethey appear in my image

TARGET DETECTION• I have known features that I’m looking for and I want to findwhere they are in my scene• Example:– Map the location of kaolinite across a mountain range

MATERIAL ID

SPECTRAL HOURGLASS• I don’t know anything about my dataset, so I want to find uniquefeatures in my image, map their locations, and optionally use
Material ID to determine what I found• Given spectral information from a dataset, compare that
information against known spectra and determine potential
matches• Example:• Example:– Find unique spectra within an image (i.e. water, urban, minerals) and map
their locations throughout the rest of your dataset

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem– Determine what kind of mineral I have displayed in a spectral profile
within ENVI

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Easily Map Features with Endmember Collection• Endmember Collection allows you
to easily map spectra/targets withina given dataset• You can use spectral libraries,
ROIs, plot windows (i.e. pixels
within your image), and a few othersources of information• It’s a friendly “try things out”
interface that is very easy to use• Easy to run more than one
algorithm at a time and compare
results

Short video demonstrating how you can create a landcover classification image using theEndmember Collection dialog and Spectral Profiles in ENVI

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

12Endmember Collection: Paint by Pixels

Alternatively, use ENVI ROIs with an EMIT hyperspectral image to perform a more advanced
landcover classification
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Target Detection Workflow• The Target Detection Workflow
locates pixels within hyperspectralor multispectral images that matchthe signatures of in-scene regions.
• The targets may be a materials,
minerals of interest, or man-madeobjects• You can think of target detection asa more advanced image
classification tool compared toendmember collection• Important note: Some algorithms
in Target Detection require
background experience in spectral
science

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Target Detection in Action• The target detection workflow
allows you to interactively refine
image classification results• Here we use the thresholds to:– Improve the amount of vegetation
being correctly identified– Remove false-positives from the water
detection• This step is quick, easy, andimproves the overall quality of
results that you generate• Pro tip: If you are just getting
started with target detection, skip
the data transform and use
Spectral Angle Mapper for thealgorithm (as shown here)
Short video that shows how Target Detection, compared to Endmember Collection,
includes interactive steps to refine the classification results

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Material Identification for Everyone!
• From spectral profiles, new button“Identify” that opens material
identification (ID)• Once the dialog appears, you canswitch between different spectral
libraries and see potential matchesfrom 5 algorithms• Important note: Material ID
requires background experience inspectral science

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

16Material ID in Action• As you select different pixels, thematerial ID dialog updates withpotential matches• Clicking on rows of the material ID
dialog shows the spectra within theSpectral Profile so you can do amanual comparison• You can pick different spectral
libraries to compare against• Each column on the right
represents a different material ID
algorithm that you can sort by

Short video that shows how to access Material ID, process new pixels, and view thepotential matching spectral from a spectral libraryRedefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

17Spectral Hourglass• The Spectral Hourglass Workflow
helps you identify and map uniquespectra (endmembers) from yourscene.
• Useful when you know nothing
about your data and want to dosome “spectral exploration”• Material ID is integrated to help you
identify the endmembers in yourimage
• Important note: Requires
background experience in spectral
science
The first step of the spectral hourglass workflow is to reduce the dimensionality ofyour data with an MNF transform as shown here

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

18Spectral Hourglass in Action• Use the n-D visualizer to identify
outliers and unique pixels in yourscene
• You can automatically identify
potential pixels, as shown in thevideo, or you can do the work
manually• Once you have your classes, you
can map their potential locations
throughout the scene• Here we use linear unmixing to geta relative abundance of eachendmember within each pixel
because we have low-resolution
hyperspectral data

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More than Just Spectral: ENVI SAR Essentials Sneak Preview• Coming soon – A new user
experience for processing andworking with SAR data
• Drag-and-drop display of key SAR
formats and step-by-step ENVI
Workflows• Capabilities include:– Dynamic Aperture​– Sub-Color Aperture​– Generate SIDD​– Detect Amplitude​– Amplitude Change Detection​– Coherent Change Detection​– Motion Change Analyzer

The output from running CCD (Coherent Change
Detection). Dark areas correspond to low values ofcoherence and represent change

Data credits: TerraSAR-X

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Workflows: More than Just Steps

The new workflows in ENVI capture your clicks and generate an automated version as an ENVI
Modeler workflow
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Workflows: Clicks to Code• You can convert ENVI Modeler
workflows to IDL code to get ajump-start at how you can programwith the ENVI API• With the ENVI Modeler, *or* theENVI API, the analytics can thenbe shared with other types of users• You can add to other ENVI
Desktop instances or deploy them
to ENVI Connect

Example showing the IDL code generated from an ENVI Modeler
workflow using the machine learning tools in ENVI

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Embracing Open Source with IDL 9.0: IDL for VSCode• New, modern developer
environment for IDL using Visual
Studio Code• Key benefits:– Native multi-language support– Make the editor your own withextensions and themes– Integrated help content for richdeveloper experience– Basic type detection for seamless
auto-complete– Automation for formatting, adding
docs, and updating docs as you write
code– Detects more than 100 problems inyour code without having to compile

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

New developer environment: IDL for VSCode! New paradigm and user experience for
writing IDL code.

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IDL for VSCode: Auto-complete and Hover Help
The documentation for the latest versions of ENVI is packaged with theextension, making it easier than ever to learn about and use the ENVI API

Auto-complete showing properties and methods for the“MachineLearningClassification” ENVI Task

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

Hover-help for the same ENVI Task with examples from the
documentation

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Introducing IDL Notebooks!
• Enabled through VSCode, we havea native IDL Notebook format anddeveloper environment• Notebooks are:
– A friendly format for capturing
logic/training and code in one place– The way that new developers arelearning to program– More approachable compared tocreating files on disk

• Note: This is *not* using Python or
Jupyter behind the scenes andcomes with the extension

Notebook sidebar and the example IDL Notebook that helps users get started!

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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IDL Notebooks: A Look at the Future

IDL Notebooks open up a new era of quick, rapid, and modern data visualizations. Here you see a preview API
that allows users to display data in new ways using IDL Notebooks.
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Notebooks: Not Just for IDL• IDL Notebooks also have special
APIs for ENVI
• Similar to IDL, they allow you toembed graphics and maps within
notebook cells• ENVI maps use your VSCodetheme to pick a base map

Example ENVI Notebook showing the display of a hyperspectral
data cube (left) and a raster and vector data (right)
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Example: ENVI Notebooks in Action

Short video showing an IDL Notebook running ENVI. This notebook uses machine learning to map burned
areas after a wildfire from 2022 in New Mexico using PlanetScope data.
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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IDL 9.0: IDL for Apple Silicon• As a part of IDL 9.0, we areincluding support for Arm
processors on the Mac!
• This offers performance gains
because you no longer need
Rosetta (graphics on right)• This only applies to IDL and not
ENVI at this point in time

Performance metrics showing (higher is better) how native Arm support for Mac is much fasterthan using an emulator like Rosetta
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Choose Your Own Adventure
The flexibility of ENVI and IDL allow you to process data how and where
you want

What kind of user areyou?

IDL and the ENVI APIENVI Inform

ENVI Connect

IDL and ENVI Notebooks

Visual Programming
ENVI
Workflows
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Choose Your Own Adventure
The flexibility of ENVI and IDL allow you to process data how and where
you want

ENVI Inform

Experts create
automated analytics

Analysts have data-modality
based workflows for analyzing
imagery and videos and can reuse the analytics and informationthat experts create
Experts use sciencebased workflows tocreate information
layersRedefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

ENVI Connect

ENVI

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View. Collaborate. Solve.
ENVI® Connect Is a Web Application That Enables Users To
Easily Work Together and Solve Geospatial Problems.
ENVI Connect lets users quickly discover, visualize, and extract information from data as well as generate
products. ENVI Connect increases and simplifies collaboration for experts and non-experts so they can more
effectively tackle problems with geospatial data, extending the scientific reach across an organization.

Use ENVI Connect to:››››Work With Imagery
Find and Discover Data
Visualize Data
Perform Literal Image Exploitation

›
›
›
›

Perform Non-Literal Exploitation
Generate Products
Perform Tipping and Cueing
Collaborate With Others

Science Made Accessible with ENVI and ENVI Connect

Experts can create automated analytics using ENVI and IDL then deploy to lightweight, simple tools like ENVI
Connect. Enabling other kinds of users to process imagery and gain insights without needing to use a desktop
application
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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ENVI Connect: The Enterprise Solution for Imagery Analysis
ENVI Connect handles the same types of data as ENVI Desktop to support
operational analysts

ENVI Connect
SAR (SICD)
RGB

Video

PanchromaticHyperspectral
Multispectral
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Deep Learning for Video Analysis• Video analysis workflow:– Ingest into ENVI Connect and processwith AI as ingested– Find video over AOI (Area Of Interest)– Navigate to video dashboard– Investigate automated detections– Contextualize observations

Video exploitation in ENVI Connect is intuitive, easy to use, and helps draw yourattention to key points in videos that need further analysis

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Deep Learning: Not Just for Enterprise• ENVI provides all the tools needed
to create custom deep learning andmachine learning models• We make the deep learning
workflow simpler by providing aneasy set-up and tools you can use
without needing to program

Createtraining
data

GeneratemodelsGrid
Hyperspectral

Segmentation

LandcoverEvaluate
performance
Anomaly Detection
Object Detection
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ENVI Deep Learning 3.0: Grids• New type of deep learning thatcreates a binary, gridded output
with likely locations of features• Reduce false positives andprocessing time by only working
with positive grid cells• Plug and play with existing models• For any previously labeled data,
you get grids for FREE
– That’s right, you don’t have to label
any other data to make a grid model!

Grid training dialog that accepts all kinds ofpreviously generated training data

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

The primary output from grid which shows
potential locations in an image with aircraft

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Grid: Reducing False Positives
Use grids to remove likely false positives. Here we remove 160 false positives with aminimally trained object detection model!

Before – 381 Detections
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

After – 181 Detections
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Grid: Time Savings• Using grids, we can not only
reduce false positives, but we cansave processing time as well
• For rare features, this can have adramatic impact• Real world time savings for aircraft
detection:– 41 Panchromatic WorldView scenes– Without grid: ~9 hours– With grid: ~30 minutes

Pairing grids and segmentation models can process a
WorldView image in 40 seconds compared to 13 minutes
without gridRedefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Positive Impacts from Using Grid
Detecting ships in SAR data with grids• Grid models are free and re-use
existing training data!

Quickly generate cloud masks with grid

• Reduce false positives and directlyreduce manual labor to correct
results from deep learning• Save processing time to directly
save time (and money) for cloudbased processing• Improve throughput of hardwarelimited applications that can’t
automatically scale to meetprocessing demands• Makes it feasible to use more
complex models and architecturesthat can better detect features

Detecting crosswalks using grids
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Choose Your Own Adventure
The flexibility of ENVI and IDL allow you to process data how and where
you want

What kind of user areyou?

IDL and the ENVI APIENVI Inform

ENVI Connect

IDL and ENVI Notebooks

Visual Programming
ENVI
Workflows
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

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Choose Your Own Adventure
The flexibility of ENVI and IDL allow you to process data how and where
you want

ENVI Inform

Experts create
automated analytics

Decision makers and analysts
can get just the information
layers that they need, when theyneed them, and integrated into
existing GIS applications
Process large volumesof data or persistently
monitor areas ofinterest using scalable
infrastructure

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

ENVI Connect

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ENVI Inform: Automated Monitoring and Scalable Processing• Take the analytics that experts
create and run them in the cloud• Easily process large areas ormonitor areas for continuous
observation
Perform global and country-wide monitoring

Use SAR data to monitor dams on a regular basis andlook for changes
Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem

Process data at scale to get answers faster
when time matters
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Recap: Demonstration goals
Today was about showcasing how our family of products come together to solve real-world
problems

SCIENCE MADE ACCESSIBLE

EMPOWER USERS TO COLLABORATEDATA ANALYSIS MADE INTUITIVE• Step-by-step spectral workflows to makeimage science more approachable• Deploy analytics that experts create
where you need them to run• Friendly, web-accessible tools forworking with and processing imagery• A new future of SAR analysis is coming
soon!

• Experts can create information layers
and publish to other tools like ENVI
Connect• AI accelerated exploitation• Improve productivity for programmers
with IDL for VSCode

Redefining Image Analysis with ENVI 6.0, IDL 9.0, and the ENVI Ecosystem• Automation and monitoring at scale

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Products and Release Timelines• IDL 9.0 – Available today!
• ENVI 6.0 – Available today!

• ENVI Deep Learning 3.0 – Either just before or right after the holidays• ENVI Connect 2.0 – Either just before or right after the holidays• IDL for VSCode – Available today! Download through VSCode or the web• IDL and ENVI Notebooks – Included in IDL for VSCode

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Questions and Discussion

Zach Norman

JP Metcalf

Product Manager

Solutions Engineering
Managerzachary.norman@nv5.com

jp.metcalf@nv5.com

NV5 Geospatial
www.NV5GeospatialSoftware.com
geospatialinfo@nv5.com
303-786-9900